iF Awards Gold Winners

Our pick of this year’s Industrie Forum international design awards held each year in Germany and what the jury said about them.

Seventy-five Gold Winners of the iF awards, selected from 5,300 entries by a jury of 58 judges over three days in Hamburg, were presented in Munich last month in front of 2000 guests.

“Many products are now very close in terms of their formal-aesthetic qualities, which makes differentiation increasingly difficult,” said Jury chairman Fritz Frenkler. “This is particularly evident with printers, but it is also true for smartphones and bicycles. Hence, it is all the more important to consider the detailing so as to identify the decisive differences.”

Here are just a few of the Gold award winners, from a simple pair of scissors to complex professional rescue equipment and why the judges chose them. You can see them all at the iF design exhibition in Hamburg or online at ifworlddesignguide.com where you can also find out how to enter next year’s awards.

The Resqtec P4 rescue tool from VanBerlo of Eindhoven, Netherlands, can cut victims out of car wrecks. The jury praised its design with inbuilt battery, high-quality materials, perfect manual and original ergonomic design.

Minimatik wristwatch from Nomos of Germany. “With its tapered form and curved lines, this timepiece is wonderfully proportioned and flattering to the wrist” the jury said.

Black & Grey & Silber scissors by Renomed, Poland. “Each pair has a simple charm and is elegantly proportioned with a beautifully twisted joint line where the handles come together.”

Pockit baby stroller by Goodbaby of China. The jury said it had never seen a stroller that folded into such a compact package and yet was so quick and easy to deploy. “Designing pushchairs is notoriously difficult, as there are so many compromises to be resolved, but the Pockit succeeds in focusing on the smallest possible folded size, and it does so with minimal compromise elsewhere.”

This ‘Augmented Reality Eyewear’ from Mini, now owned by BMW, wowed the judges with “its successful digital linking of interactive life worlds inside and outside the car.”

The Hyblade airless tyre from the Hankook Tire Co of Seoul, South Korea, can roll through deep water with a design based on a water-wheel. Its pop-out propeller spokes help ‘paddle’ through the water.

Build your own little smart systems with this DIY project kit from Sony. “MESH takes a playful and accessible approach to programming and to logic and hardware/software interaction,” said the jury.

The Seabord RISE expressive MIDI controller from Roli in the UK “has a soft, gesture-controlled illuminated keyboard for modulating sounds, perfectly integrated into the hard-moulded case. There is nothing left to reduce, nothing more to take away: This is 100 per cent ‘less is more’.”

The Cintel professional movie film scanner designed by Blackmagic in Melbourne, Australia. “The construction is amazing and, combined with the colour scheme and mechanics, makes this device a work of art!”

The Samsung Serif TV: “A re-imagination of the traditional approach to designing a TV, but in a totally contemporary way,” said the jury. “Fabulous!”

The Type 15 safety razor from Hone Products of the UK is made of solid brass. “Its haptics, weight and balance are a perfect expression of this material’s qualities,” the jury said.